The Audubon Experience

So, your four younger cousins come in town for the weekend and you're looking for something to do...how 'bout take them to the Zoo?  And Aquarium?  And Imax?  And top it all off with a bacon cheeseburger from Camilla Grill?  Yes, that sounds like a good plan.  All of that.  In one day.  It's doable, and it was actually quite fun.  Here are some pictures from the day.

[A note to my fellow photographers:  I figured that I would want to take some good pictures of the animals (and cousins) so I started to make sure my Canon 5DIII was good to go for the day.  I couldn't decide on a lens, and I didn't want to bring two.  Just as I was about to walk out the door I put it down in favor of my favorite camera ever: the Fujifilm X100.  It is such a brilliant little camera, and although it has it's fair share of quirks, I've learned to live with them.  I absolutely love to shoot with this camera.  It can handle almost any situation and it is the perfect size...I can fit it in my pocket if I want to.  It has totally replaced my DSLR as my walk around camera, and I'm not even sad about it. 

Anyway, the point of me telling you this is now that the X100s is out, this beaut can be found on eBay for around $600.  A steal if you ask me.  I'm not upgrading because I don't have to.  But, if Fuji releases a full frame camera in the future, I'm selling all my Canon stuff...not even kidding.  Now please note, this is a photographer's camera...anyone not sure what they're doing will get very frustrated.  But they did just release this baby, so check it out!]

The crew.

Sea horses have got to be some of the most interesting creatures on the planet.  We stared at them for a good 10 minutes.  The males actually carry the females eggs for them in a huge pouch, almost like a kangaroo.  We witnessed a live birth of what looked like thousands of little seahorses, almost totally invisible to the naked eye.  It was pretty crazy to watch.  (Not pictured here.)

When Orangutans fight over a t-shirt, it's very entertaining.

Design inspiration at the Zoo!